From Cracks and Words
| Photo Credit: Philippe Groggia
Cracks and Words, a photo exhibition on differently abled athletes, has been curated by Layla Metssitane, a French actress, dancer and director. The exhibition currently on display at Alliance française de Bangalore (AF) is making its final stop in Bengaluru, after touring other ADF centres in the country.
The idea for Cracks and Words came about when Layla met Paralympic athlete Jean-Baptiste Alaize in 2021. While she had always been inspired by the grit and determination of the differently abled in general and their athletes in particular, this meeting proved to be the impetus she needed.
For this project, Layla envisioned these athletes as demi gods, and spent time researching the postures and poses of classic Greek and Italian sculptures. True to form, the athletes who have been photographed by Philippe Groggia, strike statuesque poses; the gold body paint adorning them adding to their allure.
Triathlete Héloïse Courvoisier in Cracks and Words
| Photo Credit:
Philippe Groggia
Cracks and Words features triathletes Héloïse Courvoisier and Thibaut Rigaudeau, long jump athlete Jean-Baptiste Alaize, and Hamid Allouache, a wheelchair-bound dancer. All of them are Paralympic participants.
Needless to say, the aim of this exhibition is to inspire. According to Jean-Marc Dépierre, Director, Alliance française de Bangalore, the show is both emotional and gives one “food for thought.”
“It is an opportunity for us to change our vision; an exhibition like this is a window to disability. There are two ways we can deal with disability. One, you look at ways to help the differently abled and make their lives more comfortable in our world.”
“Or, we can shine a light onto their particular abilities because they have developed senses and sensibilities that we don’t possess. They have something to teach us and we have a lot to learn from them,” says Jean-Marc.
“To me, that is the difference between seeing people as having disabilities or having different abilities,” he adds.
Gold is universally accepted as the spoil of victory and it was a conscious decision to don the athletes in this hue.
From Cracks and Words
| Photo Credit:
Philippe Groggia
As many as 12 photographs of these athletes are on display at AF, each one a celebration of their personal triumph in a public arena. The poses are regal, reminiscent of Renaissance figurines — supple sinews, lithe limbs and grace personified. The photo artist makes no effort to mask their “differences” and it is laudable that the images of visually impaired emote what is plain for the rest of us to see.
Details such as the curve of a fingernail or a fold of skin is testament to the clarity Philippe brings to the photographs. Each image is accompanied by a few lines of verse.
Cracks and Words will be on display at Alliance française de Bangalore till September 23. Entry free.
Published – September 19, 2024 12:49 pm IST
